134 



NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 



tation. The original stand was 1,418 trees per acre, makitig the spacing 

 a little less than 4 by 8 feet. The present stand is 1,028 trees per acre. 

 The loss is mainly due to natural thinning, since little cutting has been 

 done. About 40 per cent of the present stand has become suppressed, 

 and many of these trees are dying. There should be an improvement 

 cutting made, which would remove the deteriorating trees. The grove 

 has been used as a hog pasture for many years. 



COST (estimated). 



Preparation of the ground.. $2.50 

 Plants, 1,400, at $3 per 



thousand 4.20 



Planting 3.00 



Cultivation, three years .... 5.00 



Total $14.70 



Interest on $14.70 for twenty- 

 nine years, at five per cent 

 compounded 45.80 



Total cost at end of 

 twenty-nine years.... $60.50 



RETURNS. 



First-class posts, 1,314, at 10 



cents $131.40 



Second-class posts, 827, at 



IVz cents 62.03 



Value at end of twenty- 

 nine years $193.43 



Deducting the cost, $60.50, from the gross returns, $193.43, leaves 

 $132.93 as the net income at the end of twenty-nine years, which is 

 equivalent to an annual net income with 5 per cent compound interest 

 of $2.13 per acre, disregarding the thinnings. To this there should be 

 added the rental value of the land for pasture, since it has been used 

 for this purpose. Furthermore, the plantation forms part of an exten- 

 sive shelterbelt, which completely surrounds the farm buildings and 

 thus assumes a value as a protection, though it is impossible to express 

 this in dollars and cents. 



OSAGE ORANGE. 



When the state was first settled, Osage orange was planted exten- 

 sively for hedge fences, especially in the southeastern counties, though but 

 few such fences have been planted in recent years. This species has never 

 been v/idely planted in groves. Only two or three plantations were noted 

 in the course of the study. Osage orange is one of the valuable trees for 

 forest planting, and should be more extensively used for this purpose. 

 It is hardy south of the Platte River, but should be planted sparingly 

 north of it since it is likely to winter kill. 



To succeed commercially, Osage orange requires a moderately rich 

 soil. It is fairly drought resistant, but unless moisture conditions are 

 favorable its growth is slow. Planting will be most profitable in the 

 river valleys, where the soil is fertile and moigt. On uplands, especially 

 in poor soils, it fails. A notable example of such failure is a 17-acre 

 plantation in Pawnee County established in 1889. The site is typical 

 prairie upland, and the soil was old and worn when planted. The trees 



